Trench warfare was harsh, brutal, and deadly. If traveling over broken ground filled with barbed wire, landmines, and machine gun fire wasn’t enough, on the rare occasion that you got to the enemy’s trench, the combat was vicious. Soldiers used clubs with nails imbedded in them, rifle butts, pistols, and knives, anything they could get their hands on.
Bayonets (600851) were used to great effect as well. Special knives soon developed to aid in storming the trenches. Many had a form of brass knuckles built into the handle to give soldiers a more powerful punch while still allowing them to have a knife in their hands (
403244). Some models did away with a blade altogether and attached something reminiscent of an ice pick, allowing for an even deadlier punch that skewered your opponent (
403246). As both sides began mounting night raids into the enemy’s trenches, fighting took on an even more ferocious level. The darkness confused and terrorized men on both sides and made brutal hand to hand combat more frantic and horrifying.